And looking at the subject as they do, we cannot help but feel a measure of respect for the Mormons while we deplore their bondage, when we find them, after conviction in court, when the alternative is presented to them of a promise to obey the law against polygamy hereafter or go to prison, deliberately choose the latter, saying, as Abram H. Cannon, one of the elders of the Church did, March 17th, 1886: "I would like to state, your Honor, that I have always endeavored to keep the laws of the United States, because I have been taught by my parents that the Constitution was a sacred instrument. That I have failed in this respect and now stand before you convicted of the crime of unlawful cohabitation is due to the fact that I acknowledge a higher law than that of man, which is the law of God; and that law being a part of my religion, sir, I have attempted to obey it. When I embraced this religion I promised to place all that I had, even life itself, upon the altar, and I expect to abide by that covenant which I made. And, sir, I hope the day will never come when I must sacrifice principle even to procure life or liberty. Honor, sir, to me is higher than anything else upon the earth; and my religion is dearer to me than anything else that I have yet seen. I am prepared, sir, for the judgment of the court." Such a man one cannot help but respect; and we can only wish that he stood up thus manfully in a nobler cause than that of polygamy. Shortly after Governor West went to Utah on his appointment by the President, he visited the penitentiary of the Territory, and in an address to the Mormon inmates promised them pardon if they would hereafter obey the law; but after reflection, the following written reply was sent to him signed by forty-eight Mormon prisoners: "UTAH PENITENTIARY, May 24, 1886. "_To his Excellency Caleb W. West, Governor of Utah_: "SIR: On the 13th instant you honored the inmates of the Penitentiary with a visit and offered to intercede for the pardon of all those enduring imprisonment on conviction under the Edmunds law, if they would but promise obedience to it in the future, as interpreted by the courts. Gratitude for the interest manifested in our behalf claims from us a reply. We trust, however, that this will not be construed into defiance, as our silence already has been. We have no desire to occupy a defiant attitude toward the Government, or to be in conflict with the nation's laws. We have never been even accused of violating any other law than the one under which we were convicted, and that was enacted purposely to oppose a tenet of our religion. "We conscientiously believe in the doctrine of plural marriage, and have practised it from a firm conviction of its being a divine requirement.